"What motivates you?" When asked this question in class, many of us may answer: a good grade, successful career, or the idea of achievement. These exhibit different types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. The idea of volunteering is so good natured and service-oriented, but I wonder how often volunteers/donors are doing it out of external motivations. For example, recognition and personal advancements are typical awards to be received. Or maybe some people volunteer and give simply because they are guilt-tripped and feel obligated. With companies, there is the idea of "social responsibility" that is necessary for long term success. Corporations may donate to causes, or have their employees be a part of service events. Are companies only socially responsible because they have to be? for profits? to follow the precedence set by others in their industry?
Recognition is clearly given to those that benefit the society. Those that donate to the Ronald McDonald fund have their name put up on a wall. Donors of the university get a room--or if they're ambitious, a building named after them. On the lower end (the 1 or 2 dollar donation to Ronald McDonald) I really do not think people give for recognition reasons, unless it is a mom humoring her child. The primary motivation in small donations is the fact that people feel obligated, guilty. IE: Drive through window: "Would you like to add one dollar to benefit the research for heart disease?"
Who can really say no when you just spent probably more than 5 times that giving towards heart disease.
Businesses are recognized for their work as well. On the other end, those larger donations, such as a university room or even a sponsor of Relay for Life, obviously receive incentive for their donations. I think having these incentives proves that extrinsic motivation is pretty important, or else the incentives would not be necessary at all.
Businesses receive good rankings(Most responsible companies), which often lead to good recruitment, resources, productivity, and profit. As a business student, I really enjoyed the companies that showcased their philanthropy side. I know that the place I interned for last summer had a great service program. The company actually took a low income Chicago area school and not only gave money, but also mentored and had some internships for those students. When it came down to picking between two similar companies, little things make the difference. Something like professional/social responsibility of the company really helps, companies know it. So would these companies be using their time to fund outside projects if it didn't provide any benefit for them? Personally, I think there would be a fewer amount of companies doing it. The industry leaders would still be giving, but there are some that may not be as devoted.
On a personal level for the students, I'm sure many of us feel a strong passion for philanthropy and have likely reaped the benefits as well. During interviews, I often give answers based off of experiences that I receive from my volunteering. I can see where external motivation would come in. There are many non-paid internships at the hospital that can be used as "job shadows" for students, but are also volunteering opportunities that help the patients. Some other examples would be volunteering at the nursing home or the actual planning of philanthropy events that would be beneficial for the resume.
Although I do believe that some people/organizations may volunteer for the recognition, or personal advancements, I still have hope. I am not cynical enough to believe that it is the primary motivation. Along the way, there may be that volunteer who is doing it just for a college application or for that job shadow experience, but hopefully it is not most of us. I do believe in human kind enough to believe that the people or companies that are displayed in those top ranking lists are legitimately devoted to benefiting society. And honestly, even if people are extrinsically motivated when it comes to non profits, at least its getting done. Lives are getting saved, kids are getting positive role models, and society as a whole is benefiting from the chain reaction of "social responsibility".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I like the ideas you bring up in this post. I don't think it's easy for people to always volunteer because of genuine care and sympathy. There are moments when people will do it for recognition or personal advancement. Some of the people I admire most in this world are those who have given up their lives for the benefit of others. They are the people who truly do it out of genuine care and passion almost all of the time.
ReplyDeleteA question I have from reading your post...do you think that people who do volunteering out of personal advancement/recognition volunteer for long term? Are external motivations enough for people to commit to volunteering?
I believe that some personal connection to the volunteer activity helps to explain a lot of volunteer behavior. Parents, for example, participate in the Parent-Teacher Organization at the School because they care about their children's education and about the environment in which they learn. College Basketball coaches participate in the Coaches Against Cancer effort mainly to honor the memory of Jimmy Valvano.
ReplyDeleteAbsent the personal connection, the extrinsic motivation may matter. Students, in particular, are aware of the role service work plays as a credential. But with the personal connection, I believe the extrinsic motivations fades in the background.
I think the extrinsic motivation for volunteering could be similar to what I discussed for academic motivation. Those that volunteer for personal advancement/recognition may do it for that at first, but then they realize the impact they are making, the lives they are changing, etc. So I do think, that those that may start volunteering do so because of external awards, there is a drift towards doing so out of genuine care.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I think it would be interesting to investigate the statistics of those that volunteer. A good portion is likely the wealthy and successful. The students who are using their volunteer experiences as a credential could very well be in this upper class, and thus this could play into their long term volunteering as well.
Hey Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI have to say.. after trying to find something to question you on, I complete agree with you. Honestly, who cares if people are extrinsicly or intrinsicly motivated or both? Point is that people are helping others.
My new idea from this post, however, is your point about people who start to volunteer because of extrinsic motivation and then end up loving it - AKA a lot of my friends who were in the National Honors Society. My idea is making it a requirement for high school graduates in the U.S. to have some volunteer hours helping on a cause of their choosing. If schools didn't have many opportunities in their town, they would have to create one. Let me know what you think about a high school degree requiring social service.
-Alessandra
P.S. I liked your comment about 5 dollars towards heart disease - so funny and so true. Too bad it tastes so good, huh?
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI think the requiring of social service is a good idea. But, on the negative side, you might not get as high of a quality of volunteers if they are really just doing it because they have to. This type of extrinsic motivation would be different than what I was talking about with the "resume booster", etc. In those scenarios, students want to do a good job so they can use it as a reference or experience. In the case of a requirement, students wouldn't necessarily want to do a good job...they just need to get it done.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I worked as a summer camp coordinator. Many of my volunteers were students from the area high schools that had to complete service hours to graduate. The high schoolers were great helpers; in fact, they were better than my adult volunteers. They were much more eager to help, and a lot easier to deal with. This could have been because the adults were older than me, so maybe it was harder for them to have an authoritative figure by younger than them.
Some of my area high schools and specific programs (such as the international baccalaureate program) already require it. And I know for the particular schools/programs in my area, these are the better ranked/higher scoring schools! So I think it is probably a great way for students to learn more about what is going on in the real world. I think especially those students that are growing up in higher income families could benefit from an eye-opening experience.